*No POV*
"For a second, I was really worried Chen would kick me out," Lloyd confessed, laughing a bit. "I'm glad he didn't."
"Me too." Scarlett smiled, sighing happily. "But you know what else I'm happy about? You guys and the others getting along—even though I had the idea first, but it's whatever."
"Yeah, yeah, we should've listened to you," Jay waved her off. "Lloyd's dad thought you were right the whole time—we just refused to listen."
The four remaining ninja sat in Kai's room, Scarlett and Jay sitting on the bed while Lloyd took the chair next to the bed, leaving the fire ninja on the floor, much to his protests.
"Which, we now know, was a mistake," Kai agreed with a nod. "Maybe you don't have bad taste in friends after all, Scar."
She turned to him, playfully rolling her eyes. "I know I don't. I'm friends with you guys after all, right?"
Jay slammed a pillow in her face, making her laugh. She shook her head and said, "Bully. Anyway, I'm glad it's finally someone else's room we have these lovely family meetings in. Sneaking into mine is so yesterday."
"Kind of last minute, but whatever." Kai shrugged, leaning on his bed frame. "Besides, my room's obviously the best one—but I'm still offended you guys get the bed and chairs."
"You know, I just wish Cole was here with us... and Zane." Lloyd ignored his complaining, sighing a bit.
"Oh, go ahead and fucking ignore me—"
Scarlett then cut him off too. "They will be eventually." She scooted over to the edge of the bed, leaning over and putting a hand on the green ninja's shoulder. "We'll be stronger than ever when we reunite."
He smiled at her, nodding. "Right."
"Aw, you guys are adorable. Lloyd, switch with me." Jay grinned.
"Uh, I'm good..."
"You guys are terrible," Kai spoke up, still pretending to be offended by them ignoring his complaints. "I'm kicking you out."
"So soon? I thought we were celebrating Lloyd's victory and our secret alliance," Jay huffed.
Scarlett now frowned a bit, looking down. Yeah, at the expense of Camille... but he needed to win. If he lost...
Lloyd looked over to her, seeing her sudden expression change. He had a slight idea why but said nothing about it for a bit.
Instead, Kai was the one to pull her out of her senses. "Keep your chin up, Scar. I know it's tough losing a friend... but she's not gone. Just away from the rest of us."
"But her powers, along with Ash's... they're gone." She looked up at the three boys, shaking her head. "No, you're right. As soon as I saw Lloyd and Camille on the track, I knew who had to win. It just kinda sucks, you know?"
"I hear you... we're all torn after losing Zane, we might make different decisions. But I'm glad you stuck with me—all of you." Lloyd smiled at his team.
"I wouldn't have picked anyone else," Kai said.
"Me neither," Jay agreed.
Scarlett took the blond's hand in hers, smiling up at him. "No matter who I'm friends with... no one will ever replace you guys. I would've chosen this team just the same if it was Jay or even Kai."
"I'm offended."
"You and I did have a fight, last I recall."
"Yeah, but we're cool now. I have every right to be salty."
"Okay, fine, you win."
"The point is," Jay cut in, ending their petty argument. "We're all here to stick by each other, and that's all that matters."
And the others nodded, agreeing.
"You really didn't have to walk me back, you know. Your room's on the upper floor."
"I know, but I have to pass your room to get there, anyway. Plus, I want to."
Lloyd gave the dark-haired girl a smile. "Well, thanks."
Once stopping at his door, Scarlett held her hands behind her back, rocking back and forth on her heels. "You know, Lloyd... I meant what I said before. About who would win."
"I know." He nodded, chuckling. "You're not a very good liar, anyway."
"And here I was ready to compliment on how badass you looked in that buggy."
"I'd love to hear how badass I looked in that buggy—tell me more."
She laughed, shaking her head amusedly. "Well, you looked very cool in there. The way your powers just took over the vehicle and how you easily passed all of Chen's obstacles."
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were observing me rather than just watching," Lloyd told her with a small smirk.
"Very funny." Scarlett reduced her laughing to a smile and a small blush crept up her cheeks. "What's up with you? You've never been this cocky."
"I think Kai's just rubbing off on me a little too much. Sorry," he apologized, smiling sheepishly.
"Then go on and sleep. After all this, I feel relieved... you guys have fought already. I can sleep easy."
Lloyd's smile then dropped. "Yeah, but... you haven't fought yet."
"It's okay, I'm not worried about me—not as much as I was worried about you guys," she told him reassuringly.
"Well, we're worried about you. You can't lose, Chen can't have your powers, you know that just as well as I do." Lloyd gave her a look, shaking his head. "And... I don't want you out."
"I don't want to lose either... and I promise, I'll give my very best against whoever I'm fighting," Scarlett told him. "I won't go down easy."
"I know you won't." Now he was the one who grabbed her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Just... just be careful, all right?"
She stared at their intertwined fingers, the blush returning—and more than just a light dust. "Yeah... yeah, I will."
With her cheeks still red, she now smiled wide and pulled her hand away, lightly shoving him forward. "Now get to sleep, you dummy. If I'm fighting it's ought to be soon, right? You don't wanna miss that!"
Lloyd laughed a bit, opening the door. "Yeah, you're right, I'm going. And hey, I am not a dummy."
"Oh, you and Jay are the biggest ones around. Goodnight, Lloyd."
With a small smile, he leaned against the doorframe. "Goodnight, Scarlett." He then walked in, shutting the doors behind him.
She stood there for a few seconds, smiling softly. "Such a cheesy... dummy."
After a few seconds, Scarlett finally took the way up to the upper floor and toward her room. But what she found there was a bit of a shock.
Turner and Neuro looked up upon hearing the clack of her heels. She walked toward them, hands behind her back.
"Hi, boys. What can I do for you?"
"More like what we could do for you." Turner scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.
"We, uh... we wanted to apologize," Neuro told her, just as embarrassed as the speed master.
"What for?" she asked, tilting her head a bit.
"For getting kind of salty at you for siding with the Ninja... I forget sometimes that you're one of them, you know? And you were right... they aren't so bad," Turner admitted.
"Instead of admitting the truth, I was on the wrong side. I knew the situation and I still fought against you... for that I'm sorry," Neuro apologized.
Scarlett looked at the two for a few seconds before smiling wide, hooking her arms around both their shoulders. "You guys... I'm just glad you finally came around. Now you both can get along!"
Turner laughed. "Yeah, I'm just a little offended how you two knew about the whole spell thing and didn't tell me, Camille, and Ash—how long have you known, anyway?"
"I found out the night of Jay and Cole's match," Neuro told him. "But Scarlett here knew long before that."
"It wasn't too long before that... more like the night before." She sheepishly smiled, still holding the two. "But the guys wanted it a secret, and well, I couldn't say no to them."
"What's most important is stopping Chen's plans for that spell." The mind master nodded determinedly. "If he is stealing powers for a bad cause, he must be stopped."
"Can't say you don't have my support." Turner grinned wide, using his free arm to ruffle her hair. "He won't be taking my powers, I'll make damn sure of that!"
"And you better not let him get yours, either." Neuro poked Scarlett on the cheek. "I'm sure you'll be fighting tomorrow."
"Yeah... I plan to fight the best I can," Scarlett assured the two.
She wouldn't lose, not now—and not especially when finally, two sides of her friendship were coming together.
Nya and Dareth stood behind a bush right in front of the entrance of Chen's temple. They watched as a few kabuki walked in, giggling as the guards let them in.
"Alright, Dareth. Let's move in," the samurai said as she took a step forward. She was ready to infiltrate the place.
But the man in brown had other plans. "Wait a minute."
He took her wrist and walked off back to the vehicle, where it was hidden far from the temple. Far enough where no one would go looking.
Once inside, he shut the door and pulled out a flat, black rectangle. "Have I ever told you that I am Master of Disguise?"
As he tapped the box, three layers of makeup popped out and he held a brush. Nya stared at it, confused.
"Is that... makeup?"
Dareth shook his head in denial. "No, no. This is the Master of Disguise kit."
Nya knew exactly where this was going.
She held her arms out in front of her, but to no avail. "No, no!"
Dareth was already putting the makeup on her, sticking his tongue out in concentration. "Get ready to go undercover! Oh yeah, oh that's—oh, perfect."
After a good, quick minute, he finished painting her. Completely.
To no one, he said, "Presenting... Miss Kabuki!"
Nya coughed from the red dust that had gotten everywhere. Looking down at herself, she found that she was in a completely different kimono, one that resembled the kabuki in the temple.
"What the—? How did you manage to change my clothes?"
Dareth only smiled confidently. "A true ninja never reveals his secrets... you should know that, Nya."
"Hmph."
But she had to give him credit. He knew what he was doing.
When she looked in the mirror, she was completely white from the makeup with red designs on her face. Her hands were also somehow painted white, and her red and gold kimono matched her look.
Maybe Dareth really is the Master of Disguise, she told herself.
"Good job," Nya complimented. "Really, it looks good."
The praise made him put his hands on his hips, grinning. "Of course! I am the Master of Disguise, after all."
She then grabbed her bracelet, clasping it on her wrist. It blended in with the kimono, so it wasn't visible unless closely inspected.
"You stay here and keep in touch. I'll let you know if anything happens," Nya told him. "You got it? Don't let yourself get caught."
"You don't have to worry about that, because I'm the—"
"Master of Disguise, I know."
"See? Memorized it already."
With an amused roll of her eyes, Nya left the vehicle and sneakily made her way back to the temple. Another group of kabuki was coming and she made it to the back, blending in just as they were in view of the guards.
They giggled among themselves, and Nya did the same. Luckily, she did it just right.
I really hope I can pull this off, she told herself.
Once she was inside, she found herself being given a fan with the other kabuki. She was familiar with it, as she's used it as a weapon before, and opened it up in sync with the others.
Her confidence boosted at this. Okay, I've totally got this.
It seemed like the others were preparing to watch a match, so the kabuki were setting the table. She stuck with the group closest to Chen.
And she would make sure she'd get some answers.
A/N: I forgot to publish this on Saturday and I'm actually angry. : (
I'm kidding, I'm not that mad. But now I kind of lost my will to keep a consistent day, so now I'll just publish chapters whenever I'm ready to. :' )
i has a good run tho
~dxganronpa